Is This Real Love?
by gurlzluvindabooks89
Summary: Rose Weasley gets in a fight with the one and only Scorpius Malfoy in her third year. Are they enemies? Are they friends? Neither of them really knows. But soon there will be a test of their relationship with each other and no one in this school thinks they can survive it. Can Rose and Scorpius prove them all wrong?
1. Chapter 1

Lily Luna Potter strode through the corridors, engrossed in her Defense Against The Dark Arts textbook, the rest of her books and folders kept in her other arm. She only looked up from her reading when her bookish cousin Rose Weasley dropped her immense load of text books after tripping Scorpius Malfoy's foot.

Rushing to her cousin's aid, she exclaimed,

"Malfoy, you prick! At least try to be a gentleman!" Lily piled some books in her arms.

Rose clenched her teeth in anger and embarrassment. As she gathered her items, her long auburn hair fell in her face. She tucked the frizzy bunch of hair behind her ear, and quickly glanced up at the the Slytherin that had tripped her up in her race down the corridor from her clingy friend. Luckily, he had retired to the Ravenclaw tower before her little tumble.

The pale Slytherin was starting at her, his cold grey eyes cutting through her. He stood there dumbly. not offering any help. an unfathomable look in his eyes. Lily stood up indignantly, a few of Rose's books cradled in her arms.

Rose quickly followed suit, her eyes downcast, looking at the scattered books lying on the stone floor. Lily huffed,

"Rosie, you know you're my favorite cousin, but I honestly can't spend another second around this rude jerk!" Lily spared a single glare at Scorpius, then click-clacked down the corridor after pushing the books into Rose's arms.

"Ouch that really hurts Lils!" Hugo, Rose's brother, called after Lily, her red hair swishing as she flipped him off over her shoulder. Hugo passed her a book, then walked off disdainful, apparently believing himself to be over helping his older sister.

Rose tucked her coarse hair behind her ear again before looking back at the young Malfoy. He was still staring at her, but as a few Slytherin pulled up to laugh at the spectacle, his gaze turned disdainful.

"I can see from your hair that you're a Weasley _and _a Granger from that bush you call hair." He spit at her. She had tried to believe that the tripping was an accident, but this was just too much.

"Look, Malfoy-" But he cut her off.

"I'm afraid I can't say my father speaks quite highly of you." he said, eliciting a few laughs from the crowd that had gathered. Insulting her, she could take, but her parents? That was below the belt. Grabbing the wand out of the inside pocket of her robes, she prodded him in the chest, causing him to take a step back.

He smirked and stared into her eyes once again, his pale ones somehow unnerving her almost black ones. A chorus of "Oooooooohhh!" came from the rather large gathering around them.

He smirked at her again and opened his mouth to cockily say,

"I don't believe you can curse me. Half mudblood, half blood traitor, I'm surprised they even let you in through the gates." A huge wave of laughter and groans went through the crowd.

Rose mustered her courage. 'Calm down, Rosie, this is why you were placed in Gryffindor. Prove yourself.' Narrowing her eyes, she said through clenched teeth into the silence surrounding them,

"You see Malfoy, that's where you're wrong." She drew back her wand.

"**Stupefy!**"

The red light blasted out of her wand and hit him in the chest, sending him flying back into the far wall of the corridor. Screams, gasps, and laughter echoed in the unlucky corridor. Rose triumphantly scooped up the troublesome books that had started it all, and started to turn, but a voice caught her off guard. Malfoy's weak voice echoed around the now-quiet hall.

"You'll have to do better than that, Weasley. If you've forgotten, we're third years. I seriously doubt you can take me out."

The group of Slytherin girls fawned over his "courage and heroism." He wiped a small drop of blood off the corner of his mouth and staggered over to her.

"Nice job, Granger." He smirked, then leaned in from behind her and whispered into her ear as if it was meant to be private, but in actuality, everyone could hear, and said,

" Though I have to deduct points. That ass is definitely not up to standard." All the boys laughed wildly while the girls looked around in confusion. What would she do now?

Rose seethed, feeling his hot breath on her ear and side of her face as he laughed along with them, drunk on his power. She took a step forward, and as the crowd watched, she dumped her load of books on the ground as Malfoy looked on in confusion. Her intent became quite clear when Rose swiveled around and took him out. As her fist, fueled with anger, connected with his face, the light left his eyes and he crumpled to the ground.

The crowd rioted. There were people screaming, jumping up and down, some in shock, and others clapping.

Rose watched in satisfaction, then horror as he fell to the ground. She smoothed her hair.

"Accio books!" They flew into her arms, and she tried to quietly slip out and go to lunch, but no luck.

**_"MRS. WEASLEY! MR. MALFOY!"_** The potions teacher, Daphne Greengrass, stormed onto the scene. The crowd immediately dispersed, leaving an ashamed Weasley, and an unconscious Malfoy. With a flick of her wand, she revived Malfoy and sent them to the headmaster.

As Rose recounted the story, she realized that is she went over the "bad ass" part, Malfoy would risk expulsion. For some reason, she felt. . . Bad for him? She smoothly skipped over that part and said that she was overwhelmed by the crowds, and when they receded, Malfoy was on the ground.

She felt his eyes flick up, trying to meet hers, but she didn't skip a beat. All she did was encircle his wrist with her thumb and pointer finger to tell him to go along. Out of the corner of her eye she saw him jump slightly and color invaded his pale face. She let go and went back to her story.

Headmaster Bobbin regarded the two flushed and excited teens over her interlocked hands. She nodded slowly once.

"I see. . . Next two nights, you have detention with Hagrid, and you're banned from Hogsmeade for a month. You may study instead. Fair enough?" They nodded quickly and exited.

Outside of the office, Malfoy turned to look at her, suddenly reminding her of a young child confronted with his wrongdoing. Rose stifled a laugh as he sighed.

"Look, I don't know why you covered for me, but thanks, Weasley. And, maybe a truce for now?" He held out his hand. Surprised by the change in his demeanor, she took it. It was rough and calloused and sent flutters up her arm. Why? Rose didn't want to think about that right now. They stayed like that for a moment before shaking once and letting go and partnig ways.

"See you tonight!" Rose called out! That Slytherin presented a few riddles. Her mother's daughter through and through, she tried to figure him out while getting ready.


	2. Chapter 2

The crisp, cold air fogged up Rose and Hagrid chatted and Malfoy trailed stood at the entrance of the Forbidden Forest. Night had descended quickly.

"Lumos," said Rose and Scorpius in unison. Two identical lights glowed from their wand. Well, almost identical. While Malfoy's had a more silvery glow, Rose's definitely glowed a more gold or amber color. Hagrid explained their simple task.

"Now while I search around for some poor wounded creature, I just need yer to stay inside this here line of trees and keep an eye on Fang. When I come back with a creature, I'll give each of yer a kit to heal with so just wait here. I'll be back in no more 'n 30 minutes."

And with that, Hagrid stumped out of sight. The two student slumped against a tree, facing the middle of the forest. After a few minutes, Rose started to shiver.

"Are you alright?" Scorpius asked. Rose sat down at the base of the tree, wrapping herself in her cloak.

"Yes, I just didn't think it would be this cold, so I didn't bring my heavier cloak."

Scorpius sat down, right next to her, and unwound his scarf from his neck.

"Here," He said, and draped the green scarf around her neck.

"Next time, plan ahead," He said with a smirk.

"Oh, no, I couldn't-"

"It's quite alright, we have half an hour to kill, we should stick closely together to conserve heat." Rose silently nodded, wrapping the knit scarf around her neck.

"Oh! My mum gave me this enchanted bag! I knew it would come in handy!" She drew a small beaded bag out of her pocket, and out came a wool blanket, which she smoothed over them. She rummaged around again and pulled out a thermos of hot cocoa. She brought out her wand and cast a Refilling Charm on it, then a Warming Spell.

"Sorry, I only brought one thermos, so we'll have to pass it back and forth. Scorpius nodded and smiled grudgingly.

"That's really smart, Rose," He said , then drinking from the thermos. She smiled.

"Thanks, I. . . Hey! That's the first time you've called me Rose!" Snow began to fall and she passed the thermos back to him. He smirked in that infuriating way and said,

"Well, to be fair, we only met today." They laughed and spent a bit of time in amiable silence. Fang lay down and took a nap. It got even colder and they both started to shiver. They scooted closer to each other and Rose produced another blanket and a shawl for over their shoulders.

"Just can't get enough of me, can you," He said arrogantly as she moved closer again. She frowned and replied,

"It's rather lonely out here." She glanced around. Scorpius shuddered with the chills and took a long gulp from the thermos.

"But rather cold." Rose bit her lip. She didn't know why he was being so nice, but perhaps this was the road to house unity. Maybe he really regretted his past actions. And Rose was the type of person to give him a fresh start.

"Oh, are you that cold? Here, if you don't mind, I believe this will fit you. It's a bit too small for me, but you have a petit frame." He glowered at her comment. Rose pulled her Weasley jumper out of her bag. It had a large yellow "R" on the front against a red background.

"Well, it's not ideal, but I'm freezing, so-" He shrugged, pulled it on, and they settled in once more. After a while they started chatting about everything, Quidditch, classes and their homes. Finally the inevitable question came up.

"Do you have a girlfriend?" She blurted. She mentally kicked herself. Why did she care? He smirked like he knew something she didn't. She blushed but removed any expression from her face. He looked into her eyes cunningly. Rose was once again unnerved from the sheer intensity of his gaze.

"No, I don't. Do you?" She pursed her lips.

"No. I don't either." He leaned closer.

"Good," he said smoothly. He leaned in so close that Rose's heart started beating faster, and her stomach twisted in disgust. He was too close for comfort. She leaned back uncomfortably when he leaned farther in. He spoke in a whisper,

"No one will care if I do this-" and he leaned in farther and their lips met. She remained still for several seconds in surprise. Then his lips started moving, and shivers ran down her spine and warmth spread through her body. His lips felt like silk and his hands cupping the side of her face were warm and rough. She melted into him and her body fit his perfectly. Her hands came up to rest on the back of his neck.

Then she realized who he was. Malfoy! He had antagonized her, commented on her ass, was probably doing this for revenge! Despite her lips protesting, she slid her hands down to his chest and pushed away. With a a strangled gasp she fell out of her blanket and landed on the thin layer of snow that had accumulated.

"How dare you?!" She exclaimed. He rubbed a hand over his slicked-back hair and said,

"Oh, don't get your knickers in a twist, Weasley. It was just a kiss." The snow started to fall really hard. Big fat flakes flew down and caught themselves in her tangled hair. Scorpius pushed the blankets off himself.

"That is, unless you didn't want to stop. I'd be more than happy to start again," He said cockily. She sputtered and crab-walked away from him.

"Get away from me! I never- I never said- Urg!" She yelled in frustration. Her hands immediately froze. What was it about this boy that made Rose, sweet, dedicated to her studies, Rose, act this was? She was never like this around her numerous cousins!

He walked over to her and offered her a hand up. She ignored it and got to her feet, brushing snow off her butt.

More snowflakes drifted down onto her auburn hair and into her eyelashes. She stood there in shock as he casually reached down and brushed them out of her hair.

"Get back!" Rose shoved his chest again and backed away.

"You stay here and watch Fang, I'll go find Hagrid," She said frantically. And she sprinted into the forest, away from the boy who confused her, the mistakes that she had made that night, and that cursed kiss. She held her wand tightly in her hand, only letting go when she tripped and fell into darkness.


	3. Chapter 3

The next day, Scorpius didn't see Rose in Potions. Not that he was actively looking, of course. Just. . .observing. After class he approached her room mates and asked about her. They shook their heads.

"Nope," The blond one said.

"She didn't return after she left for detention. Then they turned up their noses at him and marched away. Bloody Gryffindors.

'This was all her fault,' he thought.

'She got herself into this mess, she had to find a way back.' After Rose had left, Malfoy had made his way back to the castle. He thought Rose would explain everything to Hagrid. He still had her sweater folded up in his trunk.

'Nope,' he thought.

'I won't find her. I won't- I-' With a sight, Scorpius hurried out of the castle and ditched Herbology. Curse the good side inside him. He arrived at the place where they had sat, blankets and the thermos marking it.

He looked down the way he remembered she had ran. He easily followed the trail of broken branches, scattered leaves and mussed bushed that she had created in her distraught.

His eyes were focused on the ground, so he saw Rose's wand lying in the pile of leaves in front of him. He could tell t was hers because he'd had it poke him in the chest and send a spell at him. He picked it up and looked around.

About six feet away, a large hole was sunken into the ground. He ran forwards and looked down. At the bottom, sprawled about five feet down, was Rose. She was either asleep or unconscious.

She had a thin layer of snow on her and was wrapped tightly in her cloak. A lump rose in his throat when he recognized his scarf around her neck. He jumped down and rolled onto the hard packed dirt.

"Rose! Wake up!" He shouted and shook her. She moaned and shifted positions. Now he noticed her scraped knew, abnormally arranged arm, and purple tinged lips. As she started to rouse a bit, he swept the snow off her and started healing her knees. As for her arm, he was pretty sure that it was broken.

Stuffing the hem of his cloak into her mouth, Scorpius pointed his wand at her arm, muttered "Episkey," and fixed her arm. A scream erupted out of Rose and she bit down on the cloak stuffed in her mouth.

Despite all that, her eyes stayed closed and her lip stayed tinged blue. It worried him to no end. If she had been out here all night and half the day, who knew what state her was in.

He touched a finger to her bottom lip tentatively. She didn't stir and her lip was chilling cold, Despair filled him. There was only one thing to do. She would kill him but it was just to get her to warm up.

'Just to warm him up,' he told himself sternly. He unclasped his cloak and wrapped it around her. He then lifted up her torso and leaned it on his knees. He gulped and then slowly pressed his lips to hers.

Rose emerged from a sea of freezing black. She remembered nothing from last night, only falling. Her senses bombarded her with feeling and sound.

Although the world around her remained black, she heard the wind whistling in the trees around her, and the hushed breathing of someone else. She felt a burning feeling in her fingers and toes as her limbs started regaining feeling again.

Her lips were another story though. Her lips were a delicious warmth, and the feeling was spreading across her face, from her cheeks to the tip of her nose.

Her eyes creaked open and she registered a pale blur very close to her. It resembled. . . Malfoy?

Rose's eyes snapped open and she screamed. She hurled herself backwards across the pit, only stopping when her head hit the back wall.

"Ouch. . ." She moaned. Scorpius shrugged.

"Sorry. It was the only way to wake you and warm you up." Rose noted he didn't sound too apologetic, but she let it pass.

"We should get back to the castle. I'm late to my classes!" she said, noting the position of the sun in the sky.

"The only thing you need to do is rest. You must have frozen last night, and you haven't eaten in over twelve hours." He protested. Rose looked at him sharply.

"I won't go to the hospital wing! I have so much family at this school. Then they'll know what happened, and then they'll send letters home about it, and then they'll know I got in trouble! I won't!" She declared passionately. Scorpius held up his hands placatingly.

"Alright, alright. But at least let me help you. I didn't want to attend my lessons anyway, and in a twisted sort of way, this is my fault." Rose glared at him.

"Fine." She snapped.

"Let's go." Rose tried to get to her feet, but her stiff legs wouldn't permit her to. Scorpius got up and held out a hand. She grudgingly took it. He brushed off his hands.

"Now, how will we get out?" He said thoughtfully. He was interrupted by a snort from Rose.

"Easy. We levitate each other out. We learned in our first year. You should be a great expert." He nodded and relied with a resentful stare.

"Great. But you don't have to so snarky. This afternoon will go a lot faster if you aren't, _your majesty._" Rose looked apologetic.

"Alright, I'm sorry. You were the one who got me so I should be grateful." Malfoy blinked and looked towards her. He had expected her to be one of those people who couldn't admit they were wrong.

She tried to walk over to the wall but her legs gave out on her. Scorpius lunged forwards and supported her weight as she tiptoed over to the wall. Rose leaned heavily against it.

"Here, stand in the middle of the pit," she advised and he obliged.

"Wingardium Leviosa," she said, and safely deposited him on the leaves at the top of the pit. He did the same to her and quickly caught her as she started to fall.

Rose leaned heavily on Malfoy, her arm looped over his shoulders. A bit of blood escaped to her cheeks as she realized how close her face was to his. Contempt, obviously.

They started their long trip back to the castle. Halfway back, Rose was exhausted. She was lagging behind, even with Scorpius's help. He spoke up after a couple minutes of this.

"Hey Rose, would you mind me carrying you? It's just, you look really tired, not that it's bad, I mean, I get it, but, so, you might want to rest your legs, and-" She had held up a finger to his lips.

"Malfoy, you're rambling. Sure, I could use some help." At that, Scorpius's face reddened a bit and he swept her up in his arms. After a few minutes, she fell asleep and her head lolled against his arm. He adjusted her so her head was against his shoulder, and set out again.

Once they had gotten through the corridors incident-free, he woke her up only to ask for the password to the Gryffindor common room.

"Unity," she grunted, then fell back into blissful sleep. He nudged the portrait open, then placed her gently on the couch.

He ran up to the boys's dormitories and snagged a comforter. Rose was a Gryffindor, they couldn't be too mad.

He placed it over her, then shifted the couch closer to the empty fireplace. He put a couple logs into it a sent a blue jet of flames at it. He then cast a look at Rose.

Her hair was spread over the couch, making it look like less of a bush, and her freckles were more prominent in the firelight. She looked almost angelic?

No. Not at all. Disgusting! A Weasley? And a Granger? No way! Scorpius knew he was only doing this because he was the one that caused this. That was all.

He the remembered that she hadn't eaten. Scorpius strode out of the common room and down to the kitchen. When he returned with pumpkin juice, a loaf of bread, butter, and a ham, Rose was just waking up.

Her bright eyes were looking around the room but focused hungrily on the food. He had also brought up a little foldable table. She sat up so they could face each other while she ate. She devoured it all ravenously, and Rose decided to ask a question she had wanted the answer to for a while.

"How come you're so normal and nice when we're alone, but when other people are around, you're so mean?" Scorpius fidgeted.

"Can we not talk about this? It's not personal or anything, it's just you're. . ." He trailed off into a confused silence. She chuckled.

"So it's personal, I see." He smiled uncomfortably.

"It's fine, I get it. Some things you just don't want to share with everyone." He nodded. Yeah, it's like that." They finished their meal and rest of their day in silence. But about five minutes before final lessons, Scorpius checked his watch and said,

"Oh, I better get out of here. You don't want the third-degree from your fellow Gryffindors." She nodded. He went over to the couch and tucked her in tightly so her arms were pinned to her sides.

He grinned evilly, then leaned in and left a lingering kiss on her forehead, despite her numerous protests.

He excited quietly, leaving her to wonder about that kiss and if it was more than friendly. He had been finding many reasons to kiss her lately. . . Was it deliberate?


	4. Chapter 4

The next couple days, Rose was frustrated as Scorpius founds ways to avoid her and her Gryffindor friends. Was he just going to pretend that those nights had never happened?

After that detention, they were assigned different tasks, Scorpius helping in Potions, Rose cleaning the bathrooms without magic.

There was still next week when she and he would be the only third years to be at the school during the Hogsmeade trip. For Rose, the week couldn't happen fast enough. Well, to confront him, that is. Her days passed in a blur until the day before the Hogsmeade trip.

In Charms, Flitwick announced something that shocked the whole school.

"Now, now, children, settle down. It haas been called to my attention that Headmaster Bobbin wanted me to announce that in January, we will be having a ball. Apparently very formal and in the Great Hall. The whole school is invited, and you will get more details in later months. Now, back to your charms! Let's go!" And with that, Flitwick collapsed into his chair.

A ball! That would mean dates! Girls everywhere giggled as groups of boys passed by. News of rejection and newfound relationships traveled around the school. And that was just the first day.

The next day finally came, and the seconds after the large groups left, Rose went to go confront Malfoy. Rose marched resolutely down to the dungeons. After that, she had no idea where she was.

She just sort of wandered. Luckily, she caught Scorpius down ear the dungeons.

"There you are!" She yelled. Scorpius smirked.

"Miss me much?" He said arrogantly. She snorted. As if she could miss him. She towed him into a nearby alcove so they were protected from nearby from nearby passerby. He cocked an eyebrow.

"Going to ask me to the ball? Well it took you long enough." Although his tone was breezy ad carefree, his stomach twisted into a knot with his offhandedly asked question. He must be having an allergic reaction to being so close to her. He took a step away, but the twisting i his gut remained.

"No, I'm not! Why have you been avoiding me?" She huffed, and he looked at her like she was an idiot.

"Have you met the Slytherin's? They would slaughter you and me both if they knew we were friends." Rose shifted nervously from foot to foot.

"Oh. I didn't realize that. Sorry. And why did you immediately think I was asking you to the ball?" He grinned evilly.

"Because you didn't protest as loudly when I kissed you last night." Her mouth fell open and a blush almost as dark as her hair rose to her cheeks.

"And also, why do you keep kissing me? I'm a Weasley and a Granger, remember?" He laughed, an actual laugh. It sounded different than he had ever laughed before. It wasn't a smirk, a grin, or arrogant. It was elegant and familiar at the same time. It was. . . surprising.

"Yeah, you are, but it makes your face really red and you start to splutter. It's really satisfying."

"Oh." Rose deflated. Was she disappointed?

"Well, anyway, let's go to Hogsmeade." Scorpius looked at her bemusedly.

"We can't, remember? And even if we could go, the groups left already." She smirked, channeling a bit of Slytherin.

"That's only if you're not me. Here, scoot closer." And she threw the invisibility cloak over them.

"Albus let me borrow this. And I nicked _this-" _She flourished a map,

"-from James." He peered closely at it.

"Hey you can see the professors! They're footsteps! This is so cool!" She smirked cockily again, taking a leaf out of his book.

"Well it's all normal when you're a Weasley." She threw the cloak over them, making sure their ankles were covered. They quickly checked the map and made their way to Hogsmeade. As they looked around the huge candy shop, Scorpius groaned.

"Damn it! I forgot my money!" Rose grinned and held up a bag filled with Galleons. Scorpius moaned catching onto her idea.

"Oh. Oh, no, I couldn't! I wouldn't be able to pay you back today!" She grabbed his hand and poured several coins into his palm.

"You can pay me in something else," she said mischievously. He looked surprised.

"Wow. I didn't think you liked my kisses." Her face reddening with the Weasley blush, she thwacked him over the head with her palm.

"Not like that, idiot! I meant I wanted you to sit and talk to me about yourself. I need to puzzle you out." His face reddened as well.

"Ooh. . . okay." She thwacked him again.

"Ouch! what was that for?"

That was for perving out on me!"

"Ouch! What was _that _for?"

"That was for fun."

"Hey!"

"So that's a no? Anyway, sorry, but I can't let you hang out with your Slytherin buddies." She said irritably.

"They check students on the way in, so if I can't find you afterwards, we're both in big trouble." He jammed his fists in his pockets sheepishly.

"I wasn't going to anyway. I thought it would be nice if we stuck together and had a normal day where nobody got punched or hurt." Rose looked at him, taken aback.

"Okay. What do you want to do?" Scorpius thought for a moment then said,

"Well we could shop a bit, then get some hot drinks and sit outside in a place where no one could see us? I mean, the less people that see us, the less people there are to possibly report us to Filch."

"hat sounds alright," she allowed.

"As long as your sure there's nowhere you'd rather be." Scorpius shook his head. They walked along the shops, looking into each one to gauge how many Hogwarts students were inside.

The whole time Rose was thanking the maker of this cloak because he had thought to make it large enough for two third-years to walk a comfortable distance away from each other without being seen at all.

Finally the two got to a store that had absolutely no students in it. One problem though. It was a dress shop. As they peered in, all they could see were frills, ruffles and plunging necklines.

Rose gleefully tugged on Scorpius's arm.

"Hey, let's go in there!" He sighed resignedly.

"Fine, fine." And without further ado, she towed him into the shop.

"Really, Malfoy? From all the ranting my father has done about yours, I didn't expect you to be so willing to destroy the Malfoy family pride. and with a Weasley, no doubt." Scorpius sulked, his bottom lip sticking out.

"I've pushed my limits trying to be nice the last three years and maybe make the Malfoy reputation better, and this is what I get. Dragged into dress shops with girls!" Rose giggled and poked his bottom lip, causing him to draw it back in with surprise.

"No pouting! You _wish _ beautiful girls dragged you into stores everyday. I can see it in your eyes." And with that she pulled into the center of a rack filled with garish dresses.

She quickly pulled the invisibility cloak off them as they crouched in the dark, and tried to stuff it in her beaded bag.

"Ah! Scorpius! You're standing on the cloak!" He looked down but couldn't see anything past the jumble of legs.

"Which foot?" he inquired.

"Your left one," rose said, forgetting to whisper. He lifted up his foot.

"No, your other left!" Rose practically screamed at him. Scorpius rolled his eyes and moved his other foot.

"Jeez woman. I tried!" He exclaimed. Rose succeeded in stuffing the cloak in her bag.

"Don't call me 'woman', and it degrades us every time! Why-"

"Blah, blah, blah," Scorpius interrupted in good nature.

"Ok, I get it, it's wrong, can you please not lecture me?"

"AHA!" A loud voice cried, a pair of strong hands snatching them up out of the rack. A dumpy woman stared at them angrily.

"What are you two children doing in my shop? Here I am, trying to make an honest living, and you two come in and run amok!" The woman ranted. Forgetting the lesson he was given just moments ago, in his panic he exclaimed,

"Calm down, woman! We were sitting in here, not blowing things up!" Rose started to widen her eyes, staring at him in belief.

"I don't-" He didn't get any father than that. With an aggravated sigh, Rose lifted her hand and began to whack him over the head repeatedly. With every smack he belted another word.

"_Don't-" Smack_

_"Call-" Smack_

_"Her-" Smack_

_"Woman!" Smack_

With one almighty smack upside the head, she bellowed,

"Did I not just tell you not to degrade women? You insensitive jerk! How about I just call you 'man' or 'male' instead of your name?" Scorpius cowered away from her. The shopkeeper looked at her in amusement. Rose snatched up a magazine lying on a nearby table and rolled it up.

Scorpius edged away from her. Rose started towards him, whacking him repeatedly as she ranted on and on. By this time, Scorpius had curled into a ball in order to defend himself.

The shopkeeper sighed, sensing it was time to intervene. With a grunt, she hefted a scrawny Weasley up. Rose was still lunging at Scorpius.

If she was honest with herself, Rose wasn't really that furious at Scorp. Sure, she was pretty mad. But not that angry. If she thought about it, she was just postponing the confrontation with the shopkeeper.

"Although amusing, I can't let anyone die, or get seriously injured on my watch," The shopkeeper said reluctantly. She set Rose down a ways away from Scorpius.

Remembering her situation, Rose blanched so pale a white that every freckle on her face stood out in high definition. All at once, the blood returned to her face. She dropped the magazine and fumbled around for an excuse.

"Oh- er-we stumbled in her by accident- no- um-" She turned and lunged for the first dress her fingers found.

"I was thinking about getting this, isn't it lovely!" She exclaimed, holding it up to her body. She plastered a smile onto her face, but she was sure it looked more like a grimace. A muffled snort erupted from Scorpius. Rose looked down and realized why.

The dress, apart from being about a mile too long for her, was also an awful fuchsia color which clashed horribly with her hair. It may have also been covered in so many false, reflective gems that it could blind a person.

Over whelmed by the panic, anxiety, and stress from being caught, she flung the fuchsia monstrosity away from her in a failed attempt to steady herself, but to no avail.

With a small,

"Oh!" She collapsed. Scorpius covered his mouth in glee. The shopkeeper looked sourly at him.

"Laugh it up, boy." That did it. Elated guffaws erupted from him as he over, his eyes watering. The shopkeeper flung her hands up, looking at the scene below her. She gazed up at the Heavens imploringly.

"Why, Mother? Why not a broomsticks shop? Why me?"

Scorpius rather liked seeing Rose like this. He liked her flustered rather than throwing her biting wit at him. With many after-chuckles, he wiped his eyes and sat up. He shook Rose's shoulder until her eyes shot open. Her first words were,

"Oh Lord." Then she stood up and apologized profusely. The shopkeeper eyed Rose thoughtfully.

"That blush. . . that hair. . ." She mused.

"You must be Ron and Hermione's daughter! Your parents and I were great friends back in our day. I'm Hannah Abbott." Mrs. Abbott turned to Scorpius and he sobered up immediately.

"And you are. . . A Malfoy! Wait, a Malfoy and a Weasley? Sneaking around?" She sent them both a glance/ Rose blushed as bright as the sun. Scorpius spluttered.

"No! No, we aren't like that! Just two friends who caused some trouble and were banished from Hogsmeade. Nothing more." Mr's Abbott gave them each a hard, knowing look before walking away.

"Alright." She said. But she paused, looking over her shoulder.

"But Mrs. Weasley?" Rose blushed again.

"Yes?"

"Have fun." And the all-knowing shopkeeper walked off, leaving two teenagers in the middle of her shop, flustered, embarrassed and confused.


	5. Chapter 5

Ch.5

Rose looked around abashedly.

"Well, that went well," she muttered. Scorpius snorted.

"Yeah, _you _can say that. My head still hurts from being whacked. She refrained from continuing her lecture.

"C'mon Scorp, let's go try on some dresses!" At that, the Malfoy blanched in fear.

"No way! Don't you think I've suffered enough?" Rose rolled her eyes and towed him over to the juniors section. She stood, her hands on her hips, surveying the selection of fancy dresses.

"Take everything ridiculous or crazy you see, but make sure it'll fit me." And with that command, they started gathering. A few minutes passed, and they both had armfuls of awful dresses. They rushed over to the dressing rooms. Rose said,

"Because you refuse to try anything on, just wait outside. I'll come out ad model each one." She took the piles of dresses and hopped into the stall. Scorpius sat on the uncomfortable chair outside and thought about Rose.

She seemed so different. He had seen her scared, angry, embarrassed, nervous, almost every emotion under the sun. Except for the one he was seeing right now. She seemed so open, so carefree. He rather liked the version he was seeing now. He focused hard on this, trying to forget where he was and what he was doing, lest he turned an unbecoming shade of red.

The door banged open, startling him. There stood Rose, striking a pose in a dark purple dress covered in sequins. The fabric went up to her jaw, and out to her fingertips. She strutted down the aisle. Rose came out next wearing a frumpy, ribbon-covered sack.

Scorpius shook his head in good natured disgust. She went in and returned again and again. Dresses came and went, each worse than the last. After about and hour, Rose called through the door,

"I'm getting tired, this is the last one for today." And she stepped out and struck an elaborate pose. The low-cut, black, lacy dress hugged her in all the right places. It come down to mid-thigh, and one of the straps slipped off her shoulder as she twirled. The dark red slip underneath accentuated the highlights in her hair and made her eyes twinkle and shine.

Scorpius gaped at her.

"How is it?" She asked. He stuttered for a second. She frowned a bit.

"That bad?" He shook his head wildly.

"You have to get that!" He burst out, finally finding words. She smirked.

"You do realize that this is all just for fun, right?"

"Well, yeah, but you look positively perfect in that dress!" He felt his face turning that unbecoming shade of red when he registered what he said. Rose blushed with him. She didn't know if she was pleased by his comment or just embarrassed. She picked up the price tag on the side of the dress.

Scorpius cleared his throat, trying to forget the fact that she had rendered him speechless for several moments. He looked down, then pulled his cloak around his body, pretending to be cold, but really trying to conceal the slight tent in his pants. He looked at her, still trying to make sense of the price tag. She frowned as she flipped it over, then back again, turning it sideways and upside down.

Her eyebrows furrowed as she flipped it over again. His eyes traveled over her again. Her hair tumbled messily over her shoulders. Her arms were pale and slightly freckled. Her white legs were thin and had a dusting of hair on them. His pants grew tighter. Why was this happening? It wasn't like he hadn't ever been attracted to someone before. Scorpius had a reputation for a date and dump method.

He had dated girls much more attractive than Rose. Sleeker hair, thinner middle and longer legs. But he no longer cared. None of the other girls had the ability to captivate and enthrall him. With the other girls, he could predict every single word they would say. With Rose, it was always a surprise. It didn't matter what she looked like, she was perfect the way she was. Too bad he had already ruined it for himself. Annoying her at every chance he got, kissing her just for laughs then getting rejected, everything he had done had spoiled it all. And he was in love with her.

As soon as he thought that, his brain beat itself up. No you don't! You can't! She's a Weasley! You're a Malfoy! But despite his head's protests, he knew it was true. He looked at Rose in all her glory, in that glorious dress with her glorious body encasing that glorious mind. He had to shut his eyes for a minute and think of public restrooms until his pants fit normally again. He opened his eyes.

"Scorpius? Scorp?" He looked around. What had he missed?

"Yes?"


End file.
